Regional

Patna, May 17 (IANS) National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Rekha Sharma has slammed the Bihar Police for callous attitude in crime cases against women in the state.

Sharma was in Patna on Tuesday and she analysed 25 such cases, adding that the Investigating Officers of the cases were not aware of anything about the cases in which they are appearing.

"I came to Patna for the hearing of cases pending against women. I was shortlisted for 45 serious cases and listened to 25 of them. I was shocked to see the Investigating Officers appearing in those cases who did not know about it. They appeared before the Commission without any preparation," the DCW chairperson said.

She added that a large number of cases like rape-cum-murder, kidnappings, dowry, murder, acid attacks are pending in Bihar for four to five years and the state police is not steadfast in cracking a majority of the cases.

"In a case of two missing girls who disappeared a year ago and the Bihar Police failed to trace them. The state police have confiscated the bedsheets of their room one year after their disappearances. Police are claiming that they have found blood stains on the bedsheets. They do not even realise that the bedsheet was washed many times. What would they get in the forensic test? I believe Bihar Police is not informed about the 'F' of forensic test," Sharma said.

"Human trafficking is rampant in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. The mother of missing girls also alleged that she had paid police personnel Rs 500 for scanning every CCTV camera. I will visit Muzaffarpur during my next visit," the DCW Chairperson added.

"As I have a train in the night, I am leaving Patna but two teams of the NCW are staying here and they will visit several districts to know the actual development in those cases."

"I have visited every state but the way Investigating Officers have callous attitude in Bihar, such attitude I have never seen in any other states. I observed that the cases were pending for four to five years without any probe," she said.

"After observing many crime cases against women, I believe women are not safe here in Bihar. Twelve cases of acid attack appear every year in Bihar," Sharma added.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, May 16 (IANS) As the tussle for the next Karnataka Chief Minister intensifies, the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha has written to the Congress high command demanding the coveted post for the community.

In its letter addressed to AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, the Mahasabha said that their demand has to be considered as 34 elected MLAs from the Congress are Lingayats.

It also said that the party had given tickets to 46 candidates, of which 34 won.

"The community has played a major role in electing MLAs in other 50 seats. The community has shifted its loyalty from BJP to Congress," says the letter.

Meanwhile, other community groups have also come out and demanded the Deputy Chief Minister's post for their leaders.

Belagavi North MLA Asif Sait has demanded that the post should be given to KPCC Working President Satish Jarkiholi.

"In north Karnataka, Satish Jarkiholi is the leader. He should be given the post. Giving the Deputy Chief Minister post to senior leader Zameer Ahmad Khan is left to the discretion of the party," Sait stated.

Meanwhile, the supporters of Ramalinga Reddy, senior Congress leader demanded that he should be given the post.

The Karnataka Reddy Jana Sangha Director pointed out that Ramalinga Reddy is the senior most leader of the community.

"Ramalinga Reddy has been elected to legislature more times than Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. He deserves to be the Deputy Chief Minister," he said.

When Yediyurappa was the Chief Minister, he made three community members Ministers.

"After him, only one cabinet berth was given and the BJP has paid for it. Ramalinga Reddy should be made DCM and two members of the community should be made ministers," he demanded.

"We have written a letter to the Congress high command, if they do not respond, the party will face stiff resistance from the community in coming days."

Muslim community members staged a protest in Gangavathi of Koppal district demanding the post for Congress leader Zameer Ahmad Khan.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Hours after arriving in the national capital on Tuesday, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar, who delivered a thumping victory for the party in the southern state, met party chief Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence where deliberations have been going on to select a new chief minister.

Shivakumar, who had gone to the residence of his brother and party MP DK Suresh in the national capital on Tuesday afternoon, came to meet Kharge at his residence around 5 p.m.

His meeting with Kharge comes hours after former party chief Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala held a long discussion with the party chief to decide on the new Karnataka chief minister.

The meeting of the senior Congress leaders lasted for over one and half hours.

On Monday night, party sources had said that the Congress chief will decide on the next Karnataka CM after discussing the result of the secret ballot voting with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi is currently in Shimla.

On Monday, all the three observers for Karnataka had submitted their report to Kharge and the meeting of the party leaders lasted for over 5 hours.

Leader of Opposotion in the outgoing Karnataka assembly and former chief minister Suddaramaiah had arrived in the national capital on Monday afternoon through a special flight whereas state unit chief DK Shivakumar didn't come on Monday due to stomach infection.

Before leaving for Delhi from Bengaluru, Shivakumar said that the party is "God" to him.

"Ours is a united house. Our number is 135 and I am a party President. Congress party is my temple. The party is like a mother. I have done my job," Shivakumar stated.

"The God and mother know what to offer to the children. I am going to meet my God in the temple. I am going alone. The General Secretary had asked me to come there alone," Shivakumar stated.

Veteran leader Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are vying for the top post.

Sources said that despite Siddaramaiah getting the majority, Shivakumar is not willing to budge. He is claiming that he had delivered the victory to the party and hence deserved the chief minister's post.

Congress had won 135 seats in Karnataka whereas ruling BJP managed to win only 66 while the JD-S, which was hoping to play the role of kingmaker, was reduced to 19 seats in the state.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, May 16 (IANS) Outgoing Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday thanked senior state government officials for extending full cooperation and for taking several bold decisions during his tenure.

In a informal interaction with officials at a high tea here, he said that in the administration, the legislature and executive play important roles and they work under them.

Bommai recalled that soon after assuming the office, he faced the Covid pandemic and unprecedented floods and everything was effectively managed. In the last four years, no violence had been reported from any part of the state and even the Assembly elections also passed off peacefully for which the Home Department must be congratulated, he said.

He said several important decisions have been taken such as a hike in the reservation, on challenges of the government employees, and new policies. The officials played a vital role in the implementation of the employment and industrial policies and their cooperation was very important, he noted.

"We come once in five years but you will be in power for a long time. Everyone must strive for the development of the state. I might have said things loudly but it is only to speed up the work. But it is nothing personal. The state of Karnataka is ahead in many issues such as the GST and in attracting investments. The role of officials is very important in the state's development. Let us all work for the all-round development of Karnataka," he noted.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Moments after Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar met Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the outgoing assembly and former chief minister Siddaramaiah also met the party chief at his residence, where deliberations have been going on to select a new chief minister.

Party sources said that announcement on new chief minister will be made on Wednesday in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Siddaramaiah, who arrived in the national capital on Monday by a special flight on Tuesday, met Kharge at his residence here.

His meeting with Kharge came after Shivakumar met the party chief at his residence around 5 p.m. whereas Siddaramaiah arrived at Kharge's residence at 6.15 p.m.

According to party sources, the announcement for the new Karnataka chief minister will be made in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Meeting of both the leaders with Kharge comes hours after former party chief Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala held a long discussion with the party chief to decide on the new Karnataka chief minister. The meeting of the senior Congress leaders lasted for over one and half hours.

On Monday night, party sources had said that the Congress chief will decide on the next CM of Karnataka after discussing the result of the secret ballot voting with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi is currently in Shimla.

On Monday, all the three observers for Karnataka had submitted their report to Kharge and the meeting of the party leaders lasted for over 5 hours.

Siddaramaiah had arrived in the national capital on Monday afternoon through a special flight whereas Shivakumar didn't come on Monday due to stomach infection. He arrived in the national capital on Tuesday afternoon. Before leaving for Delhi from Bengaluru, Shivakumar said that the party is "God" to him.

"Ours is a united house. Our number is 135 and I am a party President. Congress party is my temple. The party is like a mother. I have done my job," Shivakumar stated.

"The God and mother know what to offer to the children. I am going to meet my God in the temple. I am going alone. The General Secretary had asked me to come there alone," Shivakumar stated.

Veteran leader Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are vying for the top post.

Sources said that despite Siddaramaiah getting the majority, Shivakumar is not willing to budge. He is claiming that he had delivered the victory to the party and hence deserved the chief minister's post.

Congress had won 135 seats in Karnataka whereas ruling BJP managed to win only 66 while the JD-S, which was hoping to play the role of kingmaker, was reduced to 19 seats in the state.

--IANS
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Thiruvananthapuram, May 16 (IANS) The onset of the Southwest Monsoon over Kerala is likely be slightly delayed this year from its normal date, which is June 1, according to the IMD.

The monsoon's onset over Kerala is now likely to be on June 4 with a model error of plus/minus 4 days, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority quoting the IMD report.

The manner in which the IMD monitors the arrival of monsoon is by recording the rain data at the 14 weather stations located at Lakshadweep, Kerala and in Karnataka's Mangaluru.

The officials monitor the rains starting from May 10 and if 60 per cent of the stations or more record 2.5 mm of rain for two continuous days, then it satisfies the criterion that the monsoon has arrived.

Another yardstick that the IMD looks is the strength of the wind.

Cloud movements are also a key indicator for the weathermen when it comes to announcing the monsoon.

In the past one decade, the IMD operational forecasts have turned to be correct.

--IANS
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Jammu, May 16 (IANS) The presence of the elusive snow leopards in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar High Altitude National Park has been confirmed by a research team of Department of Wildlife Protection through camera trap photographs, an official statement said on Tuesday.

The camera traps installed before snowfall in the national park have been retrieved and multiple images of snow leopards have been captured in the camera trap frames.

"In one camera trap frame, three snow leopards have been captured roaming amidst the pristine snow-covered landscapes in Renai catchment area of Kishtwar High Altitude National Park. The camera trap images showcase the remarkable adaptability of this elusive species, well-suited to thrive in the challenging high altitude environment of Kishtwar," the statement said.

The Kishtwar High Altitude National Park, in Jammu and Kashmir is renowned for its diverse array of flora and fauna, including several rare and endangered species.

It encompasses breathtaking alpine meadows, snow-capped peaks and lush green forests, serving as a vital ecological corridor for many wildlife species.

--IANS
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Mumbai, May 16 (IANS) Three days after the Mumbai Police's major expose of a racket of fake multiple SIM cards issued on single names, the Department of Telecom swung into action and has deactivated 30,000 such SIMs in Mumbai, an official said on Tuesday.

The SIM cards, issued by telephone service providers, were analysed by DoT Mumbai LSA on its subscriber database and 62 groups identified where similar images were detected for different names.

With a threshold of 50 or more subscribers in a group, there were a total of 8,247 subscribers identified in these 62 groups.

"There appears to be connivance of point of sale (PoS) i.e. mobile SIM sellers, especially those whose contribution of fake SIMs in a group is abnormally high, in issuing the suspected fake SIMs," said a top DoT official.

In one such case, a total of 684 numbers (SIMs) were issued against one face, said H.S. Jakhar, the Additional Director General, Telecom, DoT Mumbai, while launching the Sanchar Sathi Portal, in the presence of DDGs Nandlal Suchdev, Kishore Ekka, and Ajay Kamal.

He said that DoT has used an innovative, indigenous, Next Gen Platform (using SuperComputer) ASTR-AAI and facial recognition powered Solution for Telecom SIM Subscriber VeRification for this work.

"It has been designed and implemented by DoT with a vision to analyse, identify and weed out fake/forged, non bonafide mobile connections for curbing the menace of cyber crimes, it compares subscriber photos and database provided by TSPs, and the output is generated in groups of similar photos of subscriber with different names," Jakhar said.

He admitted that such is the expertise level of fraudsters that they have created fake proof of identity/address documents, which can never be detected by human beings by analysing a single case in isolation.

As mobile connections subscribed on fake/forged documents may be used in cyber-crime, financial frauds, anti-national activities etc, the DoT took up the challenge for preventing cyber-crimes using ASTR - the NextGen platform for detecting and weeding out fake/forged SIMs.

Meanwhile, a total of 6 FIRs have been lodged by the Malabar Hill, V. P. Marg, D. B. Marg, D. N. Nagar, Sahar and Bangurnagar police stations in Mumbai.

--IANS
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Ranchi, May 16 (IANS) In a joint operation with Maharashtra ATS, the Anti-Terrorism Squad of Jharkhand Police on Tuesday arrested gangster Aman Srivastava from Mumbai, an official said.

Aman Srivastava had been operating 'Srivastava gang' in Jharkhand for the past eight years.

In a press conference, Jharkhand DGP Ajay Singh said: "Aman Srivastava will be produced in the Mumbai court today. After this, he will be brought to Ranchi."

The gang had been extorting crores of rupees every month from five-six districts of Jharkhand.

In the last eight years, the Jharkhand Police has arrested many of his associates.

An FIR was registered against 15 people of Srivastava gang including Aman Srivastava on January 17, 2022 at the ATS station of Jharkhand Police.

Police said Aman is an accused in around 23 cases registered with Ranchi, Ramgarh, Lohardaga, Hazaribagh and Latehar police stations of the city.

The ATS in its charge sheet said the criminals of Aman Srivastava gang used to collect money from extortion and used to create terror among businessmen and contractors.

Aman Srivastava became the leader of the gang after the former supremo of the Srivastava gang, Sushil Srivastava, was murdered on June 2, 2015 in the Hazaribagh court premises.

--IANS
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Jaipur, May 16 (IANS) After giving an ultimatum to the Rajasthan government to fulfil his three demands in 15-day tenure during the culmination of his Jan Sangharsh Yatra, Congress leader and former deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Tuesday repeated the same demands on twitter too.

Pilot on his twitter handle said, "We have placed three demands in the Jan Sangharsh Sabha: A high-level committee should be formed to investigate the corruption in the Vasundhara government. Due to frequent incidents of corruption and paper leaks, clear institutional criteria and transparency should be ensured for the reorganisation and selection process of the current RPSC. Proper financial compensation to the youth affected by the paper leak."

"Till the end of the month, appropriate steps will be awaited to be taken on these important demands related to the people of the state," Pilot said triggering further speculation on his next step if government fails to implement it.

Meanwhile, Gehlot camp ministers, mainly state minister Mahesh Joshi, Ramlal Jat and Subhash Garg, counterattacked Pilot over one or the issue.

Didwana MLA Chetan Dudi accused Pilot of misleading the youth.

Minister Subhash Garg has accused Pilot of taking 'monetary gains (supari) to ensure that Gehlot government does not come to power again.

Garg tweeted: "Whether the high command knows this thing or not, who has taken 'supari' to ensure that the government does not repeat? The environment created in the state after the budget and inflation relief camp campaign is not being embraced by those who have taken supari."

"There is the biggest Sanjeevani scam in Rajasthan, houses of lakhs of people were looted in it. The name of the prime accused in the Sanjeevani scam was not even mentioned in the rally and after the rally, the prime accused tweets praising Pilot. This is the truth of today's rally, because friendship is there since the time of Manesar," said Dudi making an indirect attack on alleged Pilot- Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat's "connivance".

Dudi posted: The three issues raised by Pilot are impractical and beyond understanding. "Don't you know that RPSC is an independent constitutional body which can never be dissolved? Why are you confusing the youth, he questioned Pilot."

Dudi further wrote: "Pilot sir, tell which cases of Vasundhara government are still pending.. Which one you want to get investigated."

"Because as soon as the government came, first of all these matters have been settled by the High Court and the Supreme Court. All mines have also been cancelled," Dudi added.

"In Rajasthan, more than 150 people have been jailed for paper leak. Special law and STF has been made on paper leak. Exam fees have been returned for not being able to conduct competitive exams here. Now one time registration has been implemented in government recruitment. After this no fee will be charged for the examinations, he added.

Dudi wrote: "The demand for compensation on paper leak is only for his false praise, because this does not happen in any state."

Till date no leader in history has made such a demand as strict actions have been taken on paper leak in Rajasthan. It has not happened in any other state. These youths know very well, he added further.

Water Supply Minister Mahesh Joshi hit back at Pilot by tweeting, "It is very surprising and regrettable that some responsible people are accusing their own government of corruption. Before accusing his own government, he had to think that he was also accusing himself.

--IANS
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